Heresy In A World Of Plastic gods

Published January 9, 2017

“Your god is dead and no one caresIf there is a hell I’ll see you there”

Nine Inch Nails, “Heresy”

What I’ve always heard in the alternative sub-culture is that God is dead and hell is a fun place where we’ll live it up with all of our friends. The driving concept behind such a perception of life is that it’s rebelling against society and all things that drive us to conformity. What’s fascinating is that the opposite is true.

Heresy has replaced spiritual devotion.

A divine romance has been replaced by plastic relationships in a plastic existence.

Anarchy against the system has been confused with anarchy against our Creator. What we really should be revolting against is the fallen realm of broken hearts, eyes of lust never satisfied, despair that never goes away, a lie that’s been sold as truth, a spiritual enemy that seeks to destroy, and a god of self who is no god at all.

Jesus is not for the religious elite who have it all figured out (btw, there are no such people; they are just righteous in their own eyes). He came to redeem those who see that they are an absolute mess and who desperately need something bigger than themselves. He chases after the misfits, the losers, and the outcast.

Jesus was the alternative sub-culture of His days on earth.

Following Jesus demands that we go against the ways of a fallen world – selfishness, greed, hate, lust, deception, corruption, self-worship, and pride.

Knowing Jesus requires us to stand up for something bigger than ourselves. It’s the most counter-cultural thing you could ever do.

If anything, I long to be a heretic of this fallen world’s plastic gods, to which I am proud to claim that title.

I have my theories as to why so many people consider Jesus stale, boring, and only for the pious: they think of the angry Christians who create their own rules (legalism), yell at people about their sins on a street corner, and condemn everyone around them as they pat themselves on the back for being “good Christians”. If only Jesus – the real Jesus – was on display for the world to see.

What of the Christians who are being martyred across the world because they claim the name of Jesus? What of the teenagers who are ridiculed and mocked because they follow a God they cannot see? What of the hearts that have been changed because of the grace given from one who was given great grace?

The early Church didn’t have the luxuries of the 21st Century. You won’t find a dress code, a Sunday morning worship guide, or a book about your best life in the archives of the early believers. Instead, let’s see how much they loved Jesus, so much that they would turn against the entire world:

“They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.” – Hebrews 11:37-38

The world was not worthy of them…

I want to be that kind of Christ follower…That is the heart that I long to bear…Those very words send chills down my spine…The adventure of following Jesus is beyond what fallen humanity can offer me.

Maybe you don’t believe in Jesus. I’m not expecting everyone to see Him the same way after such a brief post. However, have you ever considered Him with an open mind and an open heart? Are you receptive to the possibility that he truly is the Son of God, that he really did die a brutal death for you, and that he longs to fill you with life?

Since I began with lyrics from one band, I’ll end with lyrics from another – one of my all-time favorites:

“We are the saviors of the worldAnd I will not be ruledWe are kings and conquerorsAnd I won’t bow to youThey will not control us anymoreWe will not conform, no, anymoreWe are the saviors, the saviorsThe saviors of the world”

Related

Andrew Voigt is a writer and blogger discussing thoughts on God, dreams, and brokenness. He has served as a contributing writer for publications such as Patheos, Fathom Magazine, and Kingdom Spark. Andrew holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from Liberty University and lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife and orange cat named Pumpkin.